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1. Purchase a dressage whip.
2. Get on horse armed with said dressage whip.
3. Do A LOT of upward transitions. When horse ignores the leg (which he will) give him a good, hard smack with the whip. Do this for about 20 minutes.
4. Drop the whip.
5. Enjoy your newly well-tuned-to-the-leg horse.
6. Touch up as needed.

Seriously, there is no reason that a hunter needs rowels, much like there is no reason for a horse to have spur marks on its sides. The basic transitions necessary of a hunter are extremely easy to tune using a few well-timed sessions with the whip. "Laziness" is actually a behavior issue, not a personality trait.

My guy tends toward laziness and general slow response to leg aides. While I ride him in "soft touch" spurs, I have found that he doesn't need anything more than that if I keep him tuned to my leg. I do a lot of transition work (focusing not just on upward transitions, but downward transitions- these guys tend to collapse during downward transitions, and it's important NOT to let them do this). It's gotten to the point that he KNOWS what's coming the second the whip comes out (every 4-6 weeks). It "whips" him into shape rather quickly.

I know you didn't ask for advice, but I really recommend giving this method a try before strapping on what could be considered unconventional equipment.

Beyond that, I have also found a straighter spur without the downward curve of a traditional POW to be more effective at times.

I considered my horse very lazy and as a result of my efforts of trying to keep him going forward, I made him dull to my aids. Jane's techniques are doing wonders for my horse and he now marches along and maintains his energy rather than me constantly working to do it for him.

I considered my horse very lazy and as a result of my efforts of trying to keep him going forward, I made him dull to my aids. Jane's techniques are doing wonders for my horse and he now marches along and maintains his energy rather than me constantly working to do it for him.

1. Purchase a dressage whip.
2. Get on horse armed with said dressage whip.
3. Do A LOT of upward transitions. When horse ignores the leg (which he will) give him a good, hard smack with the whip. Do this for about 20 minutes.
4. Drop the whip.
5. Enjoy your newly well-tuned-to-the-leg horse.
6. Touch up as needed.

Seriously, there is no reason that a hunter needs rowels, much like there is no reason for a horse to have spur marks on its sides. The basic transitions necessary of a hunter are extremely easy to tune using a few well-timed sessions with the whip. "Laziness" is actually a behavior issue, not a personality trait.

My guy tends toward laziness and general slow response to leg aides. While I ride him in "soft touch" spurs, I have found that he doesn't need anything more than that if I keep him tuned to my leg. I do a lot of transition work (focusing not just on upward transitions, but downward transitions- these guys tend to collapse during downward transitions, and it's important NOT to let them do this). It's gotten to the point that he KNOWS what's coming the second the whip comes out (every 4-6 weeks). It "whips" him into shape rather quickly.

I know you didn't ask for advice, but I really recommend giving this method a try before strapping on what could be considered unconventional equipment.

Beyond that, I have also found a straighter spur without the downward curve of a traditional POW to be more effective at times.

I've done this, but not on a consistent basis and maybe that's the problem.

I've done this, but not on a consistent basis and maybe that's the problem.

I find that mine needs a "refresher" every month or six weeks. When I get lazy, he starts getting lazy. I think it's one of those things you have to be consistent about- kind of like a curfew with unruly teenagers :c).

1. Purchase a dressage whip.
2. Get on horse armed with said dressage whip.
3. Do A LOT of upward transitions. When horse ignores the leg (which he will) give him a good, hard smack with the whip. Do this for about 20 minutes.
4. Drop the whip.
5. Enjoy your newly well-tuned-to-the-leg horse.
6. Touch up as needed.

Seriously, there is no reason that a hunter needs rowels, much like there is no reason for a horse to have spur marks on its sides. The basic transitions necessary of a hunter are extremely easy to tune using a few well-timed sessions with the whip. "Laziness" is actually a behavior issue, not a personality trait.

My guy tends toward laziness and general slow response to leg aides. While I ride him in "soft touch" spurs, I have found that he doesn't need anything more than that if I keep him tuned to my leg. I do a lot of transition work (focusing not just on upward transitions, but downward transitions- these guys tend to collapse during downward transitions, and it's important NOT to let them do this). It's gotten to the point that he KNOWS what's coming the second the whip comes out (every 4-6 weeks). It "whips" him into shape rather quickly.

I know you didn't ask for advice, but I really recommend giving this method a try before strapping on what could be considered unconventional equipment.

Beyond that, I have also found a straighter spur without the downward curve of a traditional POW to be more effective at times.